TRR photo by David Hulse District Attorney Stephen Lungen (Click for larger image)

Schroedel pleads guilty

Lungen drops death penalty on victim’s family request

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO -- The tensions of the almost two years that have passed since the slaying of Barbara Vogt came to a head in Sullivan County Court on April 5 when Anthony Schroedel stood before Judge Frank LaBuda and pleaded guilty to 16 of the original 18 counts of the grand jury indictment resulting from the June 21, 1999 murder of the Eldred woman, and attempted murder of her then 10-year-old son, John Thomas “J.T.” Vogt.

Sullivan County District Attorney Stephen Lungen told the court that, despite his own desire to go to trial, he had agreed to drop the death penalty. “Last week the [victim’s] family came to me… asked me to reconsider… because of their concern about the trauma that would be further inflicted on J.T.”

Lungen also admitted there were issues about Schroedel’s mental competency, which had never been resolved, but he maintained he was nonetheless certain about the strength of his case. J.T. was the reason he had changed his mind.

Lungen said the boy “has been struggling mightily to deal with what has happened to him and his family.”

Lungen’s pursuit of the death penalty would mean J.T. would have to live with the aftermath for another 10 years of appeals and the possibility of a new trial, Lungen said. At the family’s request, he decided the boy should not have to do that. “Once in a while, a case comes along when a D.A. has to put aside what he believes should happen,” he said.

To that end, he crafted an agreement with the capital defender’s office in which he would drop the death penalty and Schroedel would admit his guilt and plead guilty to all of the pertinent charges in the grand jury indictment. While the defense agreed to forgo any appeals, Schroedel’s admission would become admissible evidence if a future trial arose.

	TRR photo by David Hulse Anthony Schroedel

Lungen confirmed the family’s agreement in the decision by moving from the prosecution’s table to the rear of the courtroom, where J.T.’s father, John, and Barbara’s sister, Patricia McDonald, stood in the gallery and answered, “I agree,” in unison when LaBuda asked about their consent.

Schroedel’s parents, Edwin and Charlotte Schroedel, sat at the other side of the gallery during the proceedings. Both turned to watch the victim’s relatives speak.

Edwin Schroedel’s face was downcast as his 42-year-old son stood to be interviewed by LaBuda under oath.

“Yes.” In a flat, low voice, the defendant affirmed he knew what he was doing.

“Yes.” He said he had not been forced to speak, and he knew his words could be used against him.

LaBuda questioned Schroedel about the early morning break-in and his confrontation with the mother and son. Had he intended to and did he stab Barbara Vogt?

“Yes.”

Had he intended to and did he stab J.T. Vogt?

“Yes.”

And he hadn’t killed the boy only because he ran away?

“Yes.”

Did Schroedel know what he was doing at the time?

“Yes.”

At the conclusion of Schroedel’s testimony, Lungen asked LaBuda’s permission to withdraw the death penalty notice he filed in October of last year, in deference to Schroedel’s guilty pleas to murder charges that would result in life imprisonment without possibility of parole, plus combined penalties amounting to several hundred years’ imprisonment on the indictment’s other charges.

LaBuda asked Schroedel for pleas on each of the 16 counts and Schroedel responded “guilty” 16 times.

LaBuda accepted the pleas and, allowing for a mandatory six-week period for a sentencing report, scheduled sentencing for May 15.

Neither the Schroedels, the senior Vogt or McDonald made any statements to the media. Lungen asked LaBuda to further remind television and press photographers in the court that they risked contempt of court charges in the publication of any images of the victim’s family.

Looking directly at a newspaper photographer in the corner of the court, LaBuda said he had already spoken to the media.

At a press conference following court, Lungen reiterated his confidence in the case he would have presented to a jury, and said that his initial position for the death penalty “is still, to some extent, my position… I didn’t prepare for 21 months just to hold a press conference,” he said.

The district attorney said he wasn’t prepared to concede the mental capacity issue, “at least at the time of the crime,” which he described as “one of the most brutal and bloody crimes I’ve seen.”